The ISOCARP Institute at UN-Habitat's 12th world urban forum
The 12th edition of UN-Habitat’s World Urban Forum took place this November 2024 in Cairo, Egypt, and the ISOCARP Institute marked its presence at this flagship event for the planning sector.
Our team organised two events: on November 6th, the training session Tackling Urban Climate Crisis: Practical Guidance on managing Heat Risk and Nature-based Solutions took place. This workshop, co-organised with Sciences Po Urban School, IHS Erasmus University Rotterdam and AtkinsRealis, brought together expert trainers from different backgrounds, including ISOCARP Institute’s project manager Dr. Tannya Pico. After the case study presentations by city representatives from Egypt, Kenya, The Philippines, Ecuador and Brazil, who shared their experiences with Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and heat risks in urban settings, the event gave way to an interactive World Cafe session. Participants engaged in lively discussions with both trainers and city representatives on various aspects related of NbS. Each discussion table focused on one a specific theme: climate risks in vulnerable communities, barriers and enablers in NbS implementation, stakeholder engagement, and multilevel governance challenges. Attendees were then invited to join the table of their choice to delve deeper into these topics, with the opportunity to rotate to a different table after the first round of discussions. The diversity of professional backgrounds and cultural perspectives among participants made for an enriching exchange of experiences and insights. To wrap up, the session counted with the closing remarks of Tadashi Matsumoto, from OECD.
On November 7th, we held the networking session Integrated Urban Planning Systems towards Future Resilient Cities – Global Experiences: Middle East, Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. The event was presented by Didier Vancutsem, member of the board of directors of the ISOCARP Institute, and moderated by ISOCARP Institute’s project manager Taliah Dommerholt. It featured presentations by experts working in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe. The session elaborated on the urgent need to deploy resilient, coherent and integrated legal planning frameworks, and the experts’ expertise allowed for a rich exchange of actual experiences of innovative urban planning policies across diverse sectors of the globe. We had an inspiring roundtable discussion, with room for interaction with the audience.
The ISOCARP Institute additionally supported the training event Creating Circular Settlements – Closing Loops to Close Gaps, facilitated by Dr. Alexander Jachnow, as well as the installation of the Nature-based Playground Pavilion at the WUF’s Urban Expo. Focused on the use of biomaterials in the construction sector, the booth, open for visitors throughout the duration of the entire conference, provided an interactive and playful space of information and special talks, showcasing initiatives and research related to the many advantages of bio-based materials.
We are thrilled to have participated in these conversations, part of a milestone event for the global planning community. It was a remarkable opportunity to contribute to the advancement of sustainable planning and promotion of best practices, enriched by the collaborative inputs and exchange of ideas, innovations and initiatives from a remarkably diverse range of participants, cultures and sectors.
